EU Could Ban Imports Of Coffee And Beef Linked To Deforestation
The European Commission has proposed a law to forestall the import of commodities connected to deforestation, like espresso, cocoa, soy, and beef.
The coalition would expect organizations to demonstrate their worldwide supply chains are not adding to the destruction of forests.
Inability to go along could bring about fines of up to 4 percent of a company’s turnover in an EU country.
The law proposed by the EU‘s chief body sets mandatory due diligence rules for shippers into the EU of soy, meat, palm oil, wood, cocoa and espresso, and some derived products including leather, chocolate, and furniture.
Today, we have adopted new proposals to:
— European Commission 🇪🇺 (@EU_Commission) November 17, 2021
🏞️ stop deforestation
♻️ innovate waste management
🌍 make soils healthy
These are tools to move to a circular economy, protect nature and climate, and lift environmental standards in the 🇪🇺 and the world.#EUGreenDeal pic.twitter.com/XRBqbUOYDu
Numerous European corporations work in nations where environmental abuses are overflowing, however, there is right now no EU-wide necessity for them to find and fix dangers to the climate in their global supply chains.
Emissions from the land-use sector, the greater part of which are brought about by deforestation, are the second major cause for environmental change after the consumption of petroleum products, and world leaders agreed at this month’s Cop26 summit to end deforestation by 2030.
“To succeed in the global fight against the climate and biodiversity crises we must take the responsibility to act at home as well as abroad,” EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans said.
“Our deforestation regulation answers citizens’ calls to minimize the European contribution to deforestation.”
The Brazilian Amazon lost 13,235 square kilometres of rainforest in the 12-month reference period from August 2020 to July 2021, official data shows.
If the law is approved by EU governments and the European Parliament, companies operating in the 27-nation EU will have to show the commodities specified were produced in accordance with the laws of the producing country.
They will also have to show the commodities were not grown on any land deforested or degraded after 31 December, 2020, even if it is legal to produce there according to producing country law.
Nonetheless, ecological campaigners said the law leaves out regular natural ecosystems like savannahs, wetlands and peatlands and fails to target rubber, which represents a major danger to woodlands.
“The EU draft anti-deforestation law represents a major leap forward in the fight to protect the world’s endangered forests,” said Nico Muzi, Europe Director of environmental group Mighty Earth.
Nicole Polsterer, the campaigner at NGO Fern, welcomed the law but added: “While today is a big step forward, the drivers of deforestation will remain as long as other markets exist for these tainted goods.”
From 1990 to 2020, the world lost 420 million hectares of forest, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.
The Commission hopes the law will be passed by 2023, with large companies given a 12-month grace period to comply and smaller ones a 24-month grace period.
The European Commission proposed the law be reviewed and updated regularly, making it possible to add other commodities and products.